Orioles select high school pitcher Hunter Harvey (with final update)

With the 22nd overall pick in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, the Orioles selected North Carolina high school right-hander Hunter Harvey, the son of former major league closer Bryan Harvey.

Harvey was 8-0 with a 0.38 ERA at Bandys High School in Catawba, N.C., with 116 strikeouts in 54 2/3 innings. Baseball America rated him as the seventh-best right-handed pitcher in the draft.

John Hart on MLB Network said he believes Harvey can be a starter.

Harvey is listed as 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds. He didn’t commit to a college and figures to be an easy signing.

Update: The Orioles passed along a quote from director of scouting Gary Rajsich via Twitter:

“Harvey is a future frontline starter. He is a tall, lean projectable right-handed pitcher with a good fastball, good curveball and a changeup. He throws strikes, competes, and comes from a baseball family.”

Harvey, interviewed on MLB Network, said he never heard from the Orioles before being selected.

As for his father’s influence, Harvey said, “He’s taught me everything I need to know about the game and being a man. Where I’m at today, I owe it all to him, really.”

Harvey has no interest in attending college.

“I’ve never really been a big fan of college,” he said. “I just wanted to get my pro career started and make my way to the big leagues.”

The Rays, selecting at No. 21, took South Carolina high school catcher Nick Ciuffo, one of the players who was on the Orioles’ board and who had been linked to them in a few mock drafts.

The Orioles have four of the first 100 selections in the draft, including a competitive balance pick at No. 37 that can be traded, and the 61st overall pick in the second round. The third round won’t unfold until Friday afternoon.

The Orioles hadn’t made their first selection at 22nd or lower since taking Georgia high school outfielder Rick Elder at 26th back in 1998. Injuries derailed his career, and he never made it past low Single-A Delmarva. He played independent ball from 2004-06.

Last year, the Orioles chose LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman with the fourth-overall pick. They’ve taken a pitcher with their first selection in five of the last six years, the exception being Miami high school shortstop Manny Machado at No. 3 in 2010.

That one also turned out pretty well.

Update II: With the 37th overall pick, the Orioles selected center fielder Josh Hart of Parkview High School in Lilburn, Ga. He has committed to Georgia Tech.

Baseball America rated Hart, a left-handed hitter, as the fifth-best center fielder in the draft. He’s viewed as a top-of-the-order hitter.

MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo had Hart as a late first-round talent.

So, the Orioles have taken high school players with their first two selections.

Update III: In the second round, the Orioles used the 61st overall pick on catcher Chance Sisco of Corona Santiago (Cal.) High School.

That’s three high school players tonight. They must have done their prep work (see what I did there?)

Baseball America rated Sisco as a fifth- or sixth-round talent. The Orioles disagreed.